"Be a lamp, a lifeboat, a ladder. Help someone's soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd." ~ Rumi! ever

The Big Deal About BB?

I happened to be reading for my Bar in London when this tragic incident took place. Then and now i have stuck to my stance, though barraged with a lot of criticism, that Benazir deserved nothing but a few words of sorrow for her death. Yes call me cynical or a disrespectful brat, however truth be told, she left behind nothing for the country to be proud of. Neither was she a success at running the government (twice), or as a women’s rights activist as she propounded to be.I did not see her much as a philanthropist(the least she could have done with her Billion of Rupees of her assets), nor did she lead the country out of any problems of any nature that are notable. But credit is dew where it is, and she did succeed in becoming a public figure all around the world, that a drunk individual on the London Bus on route 91 was paying his condolences to me on learning that i am from Pakistan.

Now, i hear many talk wonders about her, but it was at my house in ’88 when her inner kitchen shadow cabinet took place, where BB was being prepared for her press conferences. A question asked by a late senior PPP official during her prep seemed quite simple “So BB why have you decided to join the Pakistani Politics?” A simple and an honest answer would have been to continue my father’s legacy (not much to be proud of there either) but she wanted to touch the hearts of the voter by saying “to stop the injustice that is taking place in Pakistan” and as anyone would have expected, the question followed, “what is this injustice that you talk about?” to which she in all her seriousness replied, whilst chewing on her gum, “i was on my way home (larkana) and i saw that people had been tearing up Bhutto’s pictures, and that is such a big injustice the people of Pakistan are facing.” (only if i had the permission to leak that video out)

The fact remains, that BB continued her struggle for her family name, during the process had her brother assassinated during her regime and did nothing about it, what could the rest of the country expect from her. She left behind a husband who should not even be called a president, and a son, who seems to be in line of his rightful inheritance, knows nothing about Pakistan and its people, yet shall be hailed as a leader.

In the end, it was a tragic day, a loss the country and the world suffered, but that loss was and is repairable, nothing has been lost. And to all those who ask to respect the dead, to them i shall, leave your sentiments at home. No one is saying anything about BB as a human being, she might have been an angel for all i know, it is her legacy as a Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition (as such) that forms the basis of criticism, and anyone who enters the public sphere should embrace to accept that (along with their followers). For let me assure you Hitler is dead too, so is Sadaam, not to forget Bugti, or the many taliban insurgents. Should i sit and say prayers for all ?h